The Setting
The history of the the world is a sprawling tapestry, embroidered in blood, magic and gold, stretching from the furthest past to the current hour. The First Dawn Lyr : The universe is a massive field of primal energy known as Lyr. Lyr means “core” and "root" in the Old Tongue. Lyr suffuses, manipulates, and composes everything. It takes on countless forms, such as the physical composition of the world, the body of a creature, or the breath that gives it life and sentience. Lyr is the essence that maintains the order of the Cocoon, and Lyr is the swirling insanity—the Dream—that lies beyond it. : Time before Shape : In the beginning, there was only raw Lyr, an endless sea of pure chaos, infinite change, and formless potential. Here, there were no rules, boundaries and restrictions, only an eternal sea of impermanence we call the “Dream”. Within the Dream existed the Mother. We do not know if She predated existence, if She were born from the Lyr, or if She were somehow coterminous with it, but She was the first of all shaped things. Perhaps time itself was irreverent before the First Dawn, but for a time untold, the Mother drifted within the Dream, surrounded by nothing but swirling chaos. Let There be Shape! : : Weary of the madness that surrounded Her, the Mother desired shelter from the endless tempests of formlessness. From this desire sprang shape and order. She willed the Grand Design, spinning the threads of fate and time with Her distaff to encase herself in a massive globe that chaos could not penetrate. Inside the globe, the mother wove dream into existence, where Lyr was made solid, given form and order. : After some time, the Mother pooled all her strength to break the globe into two, parting the skies and the seas, and the fragments fell up to the heavens and became the stars. She spun Lyr into fertile lands, where trees, mountains and various life forms arose. She wove blankets of verdant forests and plains, and satin expanses of oceans and cerulean skies. She wove the moon and the starlit darkness, appointing them to mark the passing of time as the night. : And on the heavens, She fashioned a globe of luminous light into a city of gold, Bran Vaal, that lighted up creation as the sun. Here, the Mother settled down to rest. This is the period that we came to know as the First Dawn. : The existence, however, could not run itself, and her world did not permit long lapses of attention. Hence, the Mother created the Rau'n to govern and maintain the Cocoon, leaving it in their charge. The Rau'n : The Mother loved her creation deeply. From pure lyr she formed several rau’n into existence, then gave each of them a name and a purpose—a sphere of influence and a position in a hierarchy that would govern the world. Every rau'n has a function and purpose in the Grand Design. The purpose defined the rau'n, and became its nature, so the rau'n would spend time maintaining the portion of the world over which it held dominance. Every piece and part of the Cocoon has an embodiment in a rau'n, however small or large. Not only objects have rau'n, but universal concepts as well. : The Mother took Eos, the Rau’n of Creation, as her consort and lover, and they gave birth to many god-children between them. Their eldest daughter, Aoide, was appointed to be the Overseer of Sorcery, the great art which the Mother worked to construct the world. The eldest son, Cerod, became the Master of Time, while their second daughter, Nimue, became the Keeper of Fate. : The world was ready for the genesis of the mortal races. The Dawn of Mortals : Thus far, no one truly knows why the Mother and the Ao created the mortal races to populate the world. Priests say that the answer lies within the Grand Design, while theologians speculate that it is because divine beings are empowered by mortal prayers. :Together with Eos, the Rau'n of Creation, the Mother shaped the first mortals into Her own image. The Inadri were born to become the first mortal kings of the Cocoon, supreme in strength and power, and blessed them with wings fashioned from Bran Vaal's undying light. Satisfied with Her creation, She appointed the Inadri to be the masters of all living creatures. :She urged Her three eldest Ao children to create mortal races of their own, and provided them with the forms that they may tinker to their liking. :Aoide imbued the first form with her own lyr. Thus the race of Viere was born. She anointed them with the gift of mana, and through her tutelage, they became the first sorcerers. Yet, for all their passion and magical powers, they fell short against the might of the Inadri. They served the Inadri in politics and arcane matters. :Cerod instilled the second form with his own lyr. Thus the race of Vezhati was born. He anointed them with timeless ingenuity, and through his son Biruda's tutelage, they learned the science of clockworks and machina. Yet, for all their intelligence and superior technology, they fell short against the brilliance of the Inadri. They served the Inadri as engineers and craftsmen. :Nimue imbued the third form with her own lyr. Thus the the race of Astari was born. She anointed them with the ability to access the loom of fate, and through the (Rau'n of Star)'s tutelage, they learned to read the stars and see the past, present, and the possibilities of the future. Yet, for all their wisdom and foresight, they fell short against the enlightenment of the Inadri. They served the Inadri as priests and advisors. Shackles and Pride : When they saw the works of the three Ao, the Inadri grew curious. Curiosity soon brimmed into envy, and the Inadri decided to create mortals of their own making. :Through Sorcery, they shaped forms into their own image, and instilled them with their own lyr. The result was a disaster. Their creatures were foolish, short-lived and weak. They were despised by the ancient races, and no Ao wished to claim them as children. :Thus the race of Humàk, "shackled ones" in the Old Tongue, which would be later known as Humans, was born. They served the Inadri as slaves, performing menial tasks for their mighty overlords. The Dream Stirs : Eventually, the creation drew the attention of the Unshaped, denizens of the Dream. Curiously they peered into the Cocoon, wondering what it was like to be part of the orderly world. They watched the mortals closely, marveling at the mysteries of life: to find joy in song and dance, to find bliss in romance, to find peace in order. The Unshaped grew envious of their ability to imagine and dream new things. : Soon, they pleaded with the Mother to weave them into the Grand Design. But the Mother refused, for the hemi-shell was small, and did not have room for the endless hordes of malleable reality. Angered and indignant, the Unshaped plotted to burn away all order and return the world to the formless purity of the time before shape. : For some time, however, the world enjoyed peace and harmony. The First Dawn was about to end. : The Sundered Morning Whispers across the Veil : Angered by the Mother’s rejection, the Unshaped sought of a way to sow disorder and weaken the Cocoon. They whispered to the rau’n from across the Veil, causing many of them to question their servitude and doubt the Mother’s leadership. Foremost among them is Aoide, Rau’n of Sorcery, and the eldest child of the Mother. : Her domain, Sorcery, was a powerful art. It was the very power Mother used to shape formless lyr and create life. Yet every spell by cast by mortals could create snags in the threads of fate and change the pattern of its tapestry, which was adversarial to the Grand Design. The Mother forbade its excessive use. This frustrated Aoide, and she grew to hate her younger sister, Nimue, who oversaw fate. : Aoide wanted to see a world free of predesigned flow of events. The whispers of the Unshaped suggested that she could create a world of her own—one that was not limited by the confines of fate, a world where her creativity will not be constrained by some divine design. : She conjured an illusion of such a world. : That moment was an epiphany for Aoide. A wave of longing struck her with the force of a blow. This, she realized, was what she had craved all her centuries. The Ao had never known despair, but it closed in on her now. Wondrous though the Cocoon might be, it was a small and restrictive place for one such as she. The skies and the borders of the hemi-shell tightened too, until they threatened to swallow her whole. : Her eyes never left the illusion. For such a thing, she would give anything. Aoide buried her head in her hands and struggled from screaming aloud. No, she corrected herself, for such a thing she would give everything. Suddenly as the thoughts of darkness and desolation came, a moment passed, chased from her mind by a bold plan: light after a despairing night, sun rising over the horizon, a second dawn. : Aoide slowly raised her eyes again to the chimera of her world. Why not? She thought rebelliously. : A Dark Dalliance : Aoide intended to construct her own world, yet Sorcery alone cannot maintain it. : --------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Below is the summary of the ages in bullet form to help the founders have a better understanding of the world's history. This will be rewritten later. : *''Aoide seduces Eos, Rau'n of Creation, conducting a dalliance secretly. Aoide gets pregnant. The Mother finds out and gets jealous and enraged, cursing Aoide's womb, that it would no longer produce rau'n, but monstrous things.'' *''Aoide fled towards the borders of the Cocoon, and then into the Mild Dream, cursing the Mother and the Ao for each agonizing labor pain.'' *''Aoide gave birth to several monstrous rau'n called the shedim. The strongest of them became the "Iblis". The body of the eldest Iblis became Sheol itself.'' *''There, she gathered the shedim, and created an army to punish the Mother and the Ao.'' *''Aoide, with Iblis as her generals, and the shedim attacked the Cocoon, killing several mortals. One of her iblis daughters, which looks like a crimson moon, became their transport vessel as it sailed towards Bran Vaal, the golden city of Ao.'' *''Finally, the crimson moon collided with Bran Vaal, creating the "Scarlet Eclipse". Aoide's army breached into the holy city. Before, the sun did not cast shadows. When the shedim set foot into Bran Vaal, some parts started to blacken, and it began to cast shadows.'' *''The battle between rau'n and the shedim took several years. Aoide had slain many rau'n and Inadri kings, fatally wounding her siblings, her father and Gavanoth. The Mother herself took many injuries. In the end, Aoide's army was defeated, with the combined might of the Ao and the mortal races.'' *''The Mother transported Sheol into a place called "Elsewhere", and locked Aoide and all her shedim in there, where they began to dream their vengeance. The Mother put the shedim in a sorcerous servitude. Mortals and rau'n alike can summon shedim to serve them.'' *''The Mother appoints her fourth child, Somna'ath, to become the new Rau'n of Sorcery. She becomes inactive in the affairs of the world. This marks the end of Sundered Morning.'' The Golden Zenith * The betrayal of Aoide and the appointment of Somna'ath as the new Rau'n of Sorcery created the Schism within her created race, the Viere. The first half remained loyal to Aoide, and sought to free her from Sheol, but they were hated by most other races, as they were living, breathing reminders that such a traitor Ao once existed. The second half adopted Somna'ath as their new deity, acknowledging Aoide's fall from grace, and started calling themselves the Elure. The Elure's hair color turned into silver, which was a sign of Somna'ath's favor. *''The Schism between Viere and Elure turned into a full-blown war called the War of Scarlet and Silver.'' *''The Vezhati started focusing on creating the best machina. It was a time of great technological advancement and wonders beyond human description.'' *''The Unshaped now whispered to Inadri and sowed doubts into their hearts, and the Inadri were starting to get corrupt, turning to tyranny, cruelty and malice. They killed thousands of Humans on whim, when it pleased them. They turned from the worship of Mother. In turn, the Mother turned away from mortals, and none of their prayers were answered. The Inadri no longer allowed to reach Bran Vaal, no matter how high they flew with their golden wings.'' *''The Astari were disturbed by this. The Astari saw their Inadri masters turning into tyrants, so they convened and accessed the Tapestry of Fate in a massive divination. There were three futures: in the First Divination, they allowed the Inadri to reign, which resulted to the destruction of the Cocoon. In the Second Divination, they attempted to negotiate with and restore the Inadri kings, which might or might not save the world. In the Third Divination, they guided the mortal races to grab power and wipe out the Inadri from the Cocoon, which will surely save the world, if only in a substantially diminished form. For many years, they debated among themselves, for they were divided between the second and third prophecies.'' *''The Humans still served the Inadri as chattel. Their lives were no better than animals, yet their population swelled for the Inadri bred them to increase labor force.'' *''The Inadri started the construction of a massive spire in the center of the Cocoon. They intended to use the spire to reach heaven, and climb the holy city once again. They overworked the Humans day and night to constuct it. This would later be called the Tower of Hubris. This marks the end of Golden Zenith.'' The Ashen Dusk * The result of the magical war between the Viere and the Elure brought about changes upon the Tapestry of Fate. Their native homelands were destroyed, its forests burned away and mountains leveled, turning it into what is known now as the inhabitable "Sea of Ash". *''The Astari, after years of deliberation, finally came up to a conclusion. They chose the Third Divination, in which they would guide the mortal races to seize power and exterminate their Inadri masters.'' *''The Astari first approached Vezhati, informing them of their visions and pleading for their help. The children of Cerod were capable of crafting superior machina and technology that would greatly help in the war against the Inadri. The Vezhati coldly refused them for they were a pragmatic race. There was no reason for them to side with a weaker race.'' *''The Astari, then, approached the Elure. While the Astari do not trust the children of Aoide, they turned away from their fallen mother, and started to worship a new rau'n of Sorcery. Their supeb powers of sorcery would greatly help in the war against the Inadri. But the Elure wished to remain neutral and be left alone to their studies, recalling the horrors of Aoide's rebellion and the War of Scarlet and Silver.'' *''The Astari, then, reluctantly approached the Viere. The loyal children of Aoide were great sorcerers, even if they dabbled in the forbidden magicks. Their armies of summoned shedim would greatly help in the war against the Inadri. But the Viere turned down the seers with disgust, for they harbored an ancient vendetta, claiming that the Astari abandoned them after the fall of Aoide.'' *''The Astari despaired, but the Humans approached them and offered their help. The Humans claimed that they were tired of their slavery and the tyranny of their Inadri overlords. In return, the Humans asked that the Astari teach them martial arts. The Astari had doubted that the Humans could learn martial arts, but they turned out to be determined students. Short-lived the Humans might be, their numbers would surely help in the war against the Inadri.'' *''The alliance forged between Astari and Humans achieved several successful skirmishes. They found out that while Inadri were very powerful, they were not invincible. The other ancient races saw hope in Humans. As the tides of war started to shift towards the unlikely alliance of Astari and Humans, the Vezhati shifted their allegiance and taught Humans how to craft machina. The Viere and Elure declared a truce, and in turn, taught the Humans sorcery. The Humans, the race of slaves, quickly became a formidable force.'' *The alliance forged among the five races resulted into the establishment of the Order of the Dawn, a faction composed of racial leaders, generals and strategists. The Order of the Dawn led the rebellion against the Inadri tyrants. *''The final battle took place at the Tower of Hubris. Despite their great powers, the Inadri fell against the might of the alliance. As they died, their souls were captured so that they may no longer reincarnate.'' *''Enter the story of Neyith, Jael, Rau'n of Pain, Rau'n of Pestilence, and the creation of the Undead race here, and the imprisonment of Inadri souls.'' *''As if the Tengri of Earth approved of their victory, the ruins of the Tower of Hubris gradually got "devoured by earth", turning the fearsome structure into the highest mountain in the entire Cocoon - Mount Mapulon, or the Pillar of the Sky.'' *The world entered a period of unsteady peace. Tensions between the Elure and the Viere continued. The ancient races grew uneasy, as the Humans grew stronger and were starting to slip beyond their control. TheOrder of the Dawn alliance started to dissolve, as race fought race for the artifacts, lands and riches that the Inadri had left behind. The Blood Nadir * Peace did not last long. Determined not to be enslaved by any race again, the Humans were the first to break away from the Order of the Dawn. Short-lived though they were, the Humans were numerous, and having learned the art of war, sorcery and machina, they became the strongest force. *''A fierce war once again shook the lands as the Humans fought against the ancient races for dominance. They occupied the central kingdom, which was once the seat of the Inadri. The Humans invaded the cities of the other races one by one, driving the ancient races away. '' *''The Vezhati fled South, into deserts of Ometria. The Astari fled West. The Viere fled North, while Elure fled East.'' *''It was a time of growing unrest and declining standards of living.'' The Humans were not equal to maintaining the wonders of the Golden Zenith. *''The Unshaped watched the events unfold through the Veil. And they knew weakness when they saw it. The borders of the Cocoon shuddered. The horde of the Unshaped breached the boundaries of the world from all directions. In their desire to burn away all shape and order, they destroyed everything in their path.'' *''Once again, the mortals set aside their differences to fight the Unshaped, but as their armies were exhausted by their infighting and endless wars, they were no match against the Unshaped. Only when the horde obliterated their greatest cities and consumed their families did the mortals realize that they committed a foolish error. '' *''Millions died, and the weaker races became extinct.'' The Astari had not foreseen this; such possibility was not woven in the Tapaestry of Fate for the denizens of the Dream were not part of it. the The Inadri were no longer around to protect the world, and the Mother did not answer any prayer. *''In the midst of chaos, as the world spiraled to a cataclysmic end, and it seemed that all might be destroyed, one extraordinarily powerful Human sorceress pulled the Otegine – the halberd and the distaff the Mother used to spin time and fate—from its resting place in Mount Mapulon, fulfilling a major Astari prophecy and affirming her identity as the Avatar of Ecematare. '' *''With the Otegine in her possession, the Avatar assembled rau’n and mortals alike and led them to war against the endless horde of the mighty Unshaped. The Avatar used Otegine to destroy the Unshaped in an enormous catastrophe of sorcerous power.'' *''As the rest of the Unshaped retreated into the Dream, the Avatar took the opportunity to consolidate her authority, proclaiming herself as Cocoon’s Empress, and using her nation-leveling weapon to annihilate utterly anyone who opposed her. '' *''A religion dedicated to the Mother, the Chantry of Ecematare, helped legitimize the Empress’ action by claiming that this was part of the Grand Design. The world needed a strong and efficient ruler, and who better than the prophesized Avatar become the ruler of the Cocoon? '' *''With the blessing of the Chantry's leader, Diva Harmonia V, the Empress united Humans and several other mortal races, and from the ashes of the war, she created a new empire, with her as its unquestioned ruler. The Age of Blood ends.'' The Forlorn Twilight * Amid the twilit ruins of a glorious past, the Empress began to build her realm, founding the Imperial Capital of Sol Salmyra, and then expanding to the rest of Salmyra Continent. '' *''To show her devotion and gratitude to the Chantry of Ecematare, the Empress erected the Holy City of Pal Tallas in the Leonia Prefecture, where the Chantry could have absolute jurisdiction. *''Insert what happened to Astari here.'' *''Insert what happened to the Viere and Elure here.'' *''Insert what happened to the Vezhati here.'' *''In an effort to strengthen her empire, the Empress took powerful warlords as her consorts, and bore several children who founded dynastic lines of their own, creating the sprawling and infallible Sun Dynasty.'' *''For five hundred years, the Empress ruled Salmyra and much of the Cocoon with an iron fist covered in silk gloves. She was never a gentle nor kind ruler, but the world was neither gentle not kind. It needed an efficient, powerful figurehead with steely resolve and indomitable political will.'' *''For five hundred years, despite the ceaseless Unshaped incursions from the Dream, the endless rebellions of the peasantry and coups d'état, the Empire endured, strong and adamant.'' It was a time of relative peace. The Second Dawn